Shangri-La (recording studio)


Shangri-La is a recording studio in Malibu, California, currently owned by record producer Rick Rubin. It is located in the hills above Zuma Beach. Originally a ranch property with a bungalow owned by actress Margo, it was leased by The Band in the 1970s and converted to a recording studio by Rob Fraboni to the precise specifications of Bob Dylan and The Band. Interviews of The Band featured in Martin Scorsese's documentary The Last Waltz were filmed at Shangri-La. The property was purchased by Rick Rubin in 2011. Rubin and Shangri-La were the subject of a four-part documentary series, Shangri-La, which aired on Showtime in 2019.

History

In 1958, Mexican-American actress Margo bought a 1.73 acre property in the hills above Zuma Beach. A ranch house was built and the site was named Shangri-La Ranch. Margo starred in the film adaptation of James Hilton's 1933 classic novel Lost Horizon, where the fabled paradise "Shangri-La" originated from. The property was an upscale bordello for the 1950s Hollywood elite and a filming site for the TV show Mister Ed in the 1960s. In 1974, the ranch property was leased by Canadian-American roots rock band The Band. The master bedroom was converted to a recording studio by record producer and audio engineer Rob Fraboni and in-house tech Ed Anderson according to the precise specifications of Bob Dylan and The Band. The Band built it while taking time off after concluding the Bob Dylan and the Band 1974 Tour. Drummer Levon Helm later described Shangri-La as "a clubhouse and studio where we and our friends could record albums and cross-pollinate one another's music." They kept the name "Shangri-La" because to them "Malibu felt like a paradise after years of gray Catskill winters" in upstate New York. The house came with a Naugahyde bar and bedrooms with mirrored walls, from Shangri-La's time as a bordello. Shangri-La was a functioning studio by the end of 1974, with Larry Samuels working as studio manager. The Band's Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson and Rick Danko were living in houses near Shangri-La and were becoming involved in other outside projects. Levon Helm lived between Woodstock, New York and Los Angeles, and used a bedroom at Shangri-La when he was in Malibu. Richard Manuel lived at Shangri-La for a year, living in a bungalow down toward Zuma Beach that was converted from the stable of Bamboo Harvester from Mister Ed. Manuel was heavily drinking Grand Marnier liqeur while living at Shangri-La.
of The Band lived at Shangri-La for a year, residing in a beach bungalow converted from the Mister Ed horse stable.
In 1976, Rob Fraboni teamed up with partners and purchased the house for $195,000, turning it into a semi-commercial studio. Shangri-La was a state-of-the-art 24-track studio, equipped with the latest synthesizers. The 24-track console allowed The Band keyboardist Garth Hudson to record multiple layers of keyboards on several tracks on their sixth studio album, Northern Lights – Southern Cross. A number of albums were recorded under Fraboni's management, including Renée Geyer's So Lucky, Bonnie Raitt's Green Light, and Eric Clapton's No Reason to Cry. Clapton spent nearly three months at Shangri-La, hanging out and recording with The Band, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Pete Townshend, Joe Cocker, Billy Preston, Ronnie Wood, and Georgie Fame. Bob Dylan lived outside in a tent in the garden during Clapton's time at Shangri-La. Clapton formed a close friendship with Richard Manuel while at Shangri-La. Garth Hudson recorded overdubs at Shangri-La for Van Morrison's tenth studio album, Wavelength.
In 1985, Rob Fraboni left Shangri-La to serve as Vice President of Island Records. The studio's usage decreased dramatically after Fraboni's exit.
In October 2006, Blaine "Beej" Chaney of the Minneapolis new wave punk band The Suburbs purchased the property. Chaney, who married into the wealthy Cargill family, purchased the property for $2,125,000. The same year, musician and producer Eric Lynn became Shangri-La's house engineer and studio manager. Chaney oversaw a renewed interest in the studio with a number of notable albums recorded at Shangri-La, including Weezer's self-titled 2008 album, Metallica's Death Magnetic and Kid Rock's Born Free.
The studio and property were listed for $4.1 million in 2011 by Chaney. Within weeks the price tag was cut drastically to $3,195,000. Record producer Rick Rubin purchased Shangri-La for $2 million in August 2011. Numerous artists have since recorded at Shangri-La under Rubin's ownership, including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Eminem and Kanye West.
Shangri-La survived the 2018 Woolsey Fire, but Rubin's two nearby homes were lost to the fire.

Property and recording spaces

Shangri-La consists of four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two primary recording studios. The main studio has an API console and Neumann U87 microphones while the other recording space, a building called "The Chapel", also uses U87 microphones but has a console from Muscle Shoals Sound Studio which was formerly in Rubin's The Mansion. The property also includes Bob Dylan's former tour bus, which is parked permanently and has been repurposed as a recording space.

Showtime documentary series

The studio and its owner Rick Rubin were the subject of the four-part documentary television series Shangri-La, which aired on Showtime in 2019. A "work-in-progress" cut of the docuseries was screened at the 2019 SXSW Festival. The first two episodes were directed by Morgan Neville, while the last two were directed by Jeff Malmberg.

List of artists recorded

Many artists have recorded at Shangri-La, including: